100 Concerts / Concert #17

Headline Act: Bob Dylan

Touring Album: Down In The Groove

Opening Act: Sweethearts Of The Rodeo

Date: September 24, 1988

Venue: O'Connell Center, Gainesville, FL
Ticket price: $17.50

How many roads can a singer travel down

Before he doesn’t care anymore?

Yes, 'n' how many tours can a legend perform

Before he turns into a bore?

Yes, 'n' how many lyrics can one man mumble

Before the crowd starts to snore?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind.

The answer is blowin' in the wind

I was so much older then,  I'm younger than that now.

I worship Bob Dylan, the lyricist, songwriter, and musician.

I hate Bob Dylan, the performer, specifically the one who showed up (in body only) for this 1988 show.

His impact on modern music is immeasurable. From The Beatles to Jimi Hendrix to Bruce Springsteen to U2, uncountable numbers of singer-songwriters in the past 50 years have been influenced by his songwriting. But unlike Springsteen and U2, Dylan’s creative longevity has not translated into long-term commitment as a dynamic performer.

By the time he rambled into Gainesville in 1988, he had lived a million lives, broken a million hearts, and thrown away more great songs than most artists could ever hope to write. He had evolved quickly from obscure coffeehouse folk singer to rock icon in just a few years in the early ‘60s. He was labeled the voice of his generation, though he never wanted to fill those shoes.

There was a formula for musicians to be successful, they were supposed to listen to their agents and record company execs. But Dylan was a trailblazer. He had the balls to alienate his early fans when he went electric at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. This was a radical move. Teen idols were expected to remain teen idols, crooners were expected to remain crooners, and folks singers were not supposed to play electric guitar. As he evolved personally and professionally, he embraced gospel, soul, country, and multiple religious identities. His prolific career has been unrivaled, with 35 studio albums (and many live recordings etc.) on his discography. Now in his seventies(!), Bob is still writing and recording music with great critical acclaim. It's been a remarkable, legendary, unparalleled career.

In 2004, he authored a book, “Chronicles Vol. I", a book much like Dylan himself. Part of the time entertaining, inspiring, fascinating and part of the time disorganized, unmotivated, and just damn confusing. The book touches on several phases of his life and career, including candid confessions about his diminished passion for performing.

"The public had been fed a steady diet of my complete recordings on disc for years, but my live performances never seemed to capture the inner spirit of the songs - had failed to put the spin on them."

To say Dylan mumbled through his lyrics would be unfair to mumblers. I’d call it more of a semi-conscious slurring, like your drunken friend on his way to passing out on your couch after a few too many pints at the pub.

"Too many distractions had turned my musical path into a jungle of vines."

I wanted my money back. I wanted to sue for damages. What is the compensatory value of feeling cheated by a concert? The man who wrote dozens of the greatest songs of the 20th century perpetrated the worst crime a performing artist can commit, apathy. He appeared completely unmotivated to perform, uninterested in his own music and lyrics.

Like A Rolling Stone

"My performances were an act, and the rituals were boring me."

Some artists can’t quit performing, even when they don’t really need the money.  Even if they lack the vocal range and dexterity of their youth, they spill their heart and soul all over the stage.  They find a way to connect emotionally and spiritually with their audience even as shadows of their former selves.

"The intimacy, among a lot of other things, was gone. For the listeners, it must have been like going through deserted orchards and dead grass." 

In 1988, Dylan was 47. He may have had a billion miles on his tires, but he was young enough that he should have had something in the tank. When I buy a concert ticket, I expect the musician to sing and perform like he gives a shit.  Dylan did not. "Deserted orchards and dead grass", Dylan the writer perfectly captured Dylan the anti-performer.

Read the set list below, this should have been a fantastic concert. But Dylan is not Springsteen. The Boss gives his audience every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears every night. He demands the same from his band and from the crowd itself. A Bruce show makes you feel spent. This show made me feel ripped off.

Unofficial setlist: Subterranean Homesick Blues, Just Like A Woman, Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again, Shelter From The Storm, Ballad Of A Thin Man, Highway 61 Revisited, One Too Many Mornings, The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll, Girl From The North Country, Silvio, I Shall Be Released, Like A Rolling Stone, Barbara Allen, Knockin' On Heaven's Door, All Along The Watchtower, Maggie's Farm